KPU Prepares Mechanism for More Elaborative Debate

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Media crew watch the debate between incumbent Joko Widodo and presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto at a media center at the Sultan hotel in Jakarta on Sunday (17/2/2019).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The General Elections Commission (KPU) says it will apply a new debate mechanism to ensure that the third round of the 2019 presidential debates is more elaborative. In addition to extending the exploratory segment, the KPU is also mulling a question-and-answer (Q&A) session with select members of the audience who were experts or practitioners in the fields of the debate topics.

The third debate round is scheduled for March 17, 2019, and is themed education, health, manpower and socio-cultural issues. Only the two vice presidential candidates will take part in the debate.

Election experts expressed hope that the KPU’s planned debate mechanism would also be accompanied by sharper questions, so the debate participants could provide concrete answers on the campaign programs they were offering to voters.

KPU commissioner Wahyu Setiawan said in Jakarta on Friday (2/20/2019) that the plans to extend the exploratory segment and to hold a Q&A session with the audience needed further study. He said the KPU would discuss the ideas with members of the presidential campaign teams.

He said the exploratory segment could be extended by shortening other segments or by modifying the format of the debate to allow more time for open debates between the candidates to. Meanwhile, regarding the Q&A session with audience members, Wahyu said the KPU was open to incorporating it as a section of the debate.

“Among the themes for the third debate is education. We can open a Q&A session with people from the education sector, such as educators and members of non-governmental education organizations that attend the debate. They can ask detailed questions in line with the debate themes,” he said.

Sharper questions

AIrlangga University political science professor Ramlan Surbakti said that, apart from the debate’s mechanism, the KPU should also formulate sharper questions so the candidates could provide concrete answers on their programs. He also said that moderators should pursue more detailed answers from the candidates. The moderators in the last two rounds had been unable to grill the candidates to provide more thorough answers.

KPU chief Arief Budiman said the commission would consider all suggestions, including those on technical and conceptual aspects of the debates. The KPU had evaluated the second debate round on Wednesday with representatives from both camps as well as media partners.

Deputy chair Priyo Budi of the Santoso Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno national campaign team said that it had submitted its suggestions to the KPU, such as reducing the number of supporters at the

debate venue. Priyo said the team had no objections with reducing supporter numbers for a smoother debate.

Meanwhile, the spread of political hoaxes had increased following the two debate rounds. Aribowo Sasmito, the head of the Indonesian Anti-Slander Society’s (Mafindo) fact-check committee, said that hoaxes related to the debate were similar in that supporters would say anything to defend their preferred candidate’s statements.

“No matter if the statement is true or false, [supporters] will always clarify it, whether with data or corrections. The point is that they always try to defend their ‘champion’,” he said. (REK/SAN)